Memories are part of my artwork. As a child my Nana let us make mud pies in her garden. We were allowed to pick flowers and decorate them. The best part was she came with handbag over her arm and bought our creations. We then set off to the corner dairy where I soon learnt that vanilla, a new flavour, was not a fruity ice-cream.

This book was made for the NZ Association of Book Crafts exhibition. Using muslin as a base, serviettes and photos of cupcakes were glued, collage style on to the muslin. These were photocopied and formed the pages.

Taking a saw to pages of a book is not something for everyone. Neither is using an iron on wet dye and hearing it sizzle but what an adventure. I also like the furry edges of the paper. The heated bubbles produce some amazing patterns. There is no firm result for the outcome. That's the mystery of this process. You never know what you’re going to get.

In the photos below I have drawn around images that I see on the pages.

I have 2 irons for this process as they have different patterns on the base.

My iron has become a friend for the first time in my life. Oh! And the dye bottle.

In 2012 my Grandson was smuggled out of New Zealand to Cape Town, South Africa. This left a huge gap in all our lives.

To cope with the loss and to pass on family memories that I may never have the opportunity to share with him, I made him a book.

I treasure these books. Not because I made them but because one day it will be a link to my Grandson.

Each day I wonder what he is doing and where he is and if he receives the things I send.

My one book has grown into 8 books now. This will be his New Zealand family history. One day he will know he had a great family who were denied access to his precious world.

One page is special as my late husband, his Grandfather wrote in the one of the books.

This year Joseph was 8. We all love him and miss him

I call these Joseph Book’s.

They measure 140mm x 75mm

Inside are drawings, photos, presents I've sent and cards I’ve made, copies of postcards about New Zealand, family photos and events, memories of times spent in the first 2 years of his life and jottings of what Bizzel, cat is up too.

An artwork from an idea to fruition is sometimes fraught with decisions. I made the pages for this book and then stitching it together needing resolving. It sat unloved for some time before I came up with the idea of stitching old curtain hooks on to the spine. I found a brass ashtray and a poker and with my husbands help the book was attached and easy to flip through and turn the page.

Making books is fun. As a diversion, our group decided to each name a title for a book and swap pages. Each month we sent a page with our title to a group member. The titles ranged from flowers, my kitchen, birds, seasons, pathways and dreams. I chose Outside the Box. That created a bit of a dilemma for some as I cut a square out of the page.

For a year I lived in Invercargill. Bluff oysters live close by and are prized for their delicacy. They are in season March till about August and taste delicious. They can be cooked in different ways but are best eaten raw. There are food festivals and shucking competitions where the oyster is the centre of attention.

This mini book was made using the shell as the cover with the pages dyed and painted.